The contents of this report reflect the views of the author(s), who is responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Commonwealth Transportation Board, or the Federal Highway Administration. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. Any inclusion of manufacturer names, trade names, or trademarks is for identification purposes only and is not to be considered an endorsement.

This memorandum examines the data collected during the Research Council's 1976 study of the transportation of 12- and 14-foot wide manufactured housing units to determine whether the data were adequate for analyzing the effects of wide load speeds on other traffic and, if possible, to determine what these effects were. The major conclusion from the examination of the data is that the wide load vehicles traveling above 45 mph on interstate and four-lane divided highways had lower accident potentials than did those traveling at slower speeds. Accordingly, it is recommended that the speed limit on interstate and four-lane divided highways for overwidth manufactured housing units be changed to 55 mph, the speed which would put these vehicles in reasonable conformity with other traffic.